• Impressum

A bit of History on me

About me:

My name is Lemoni Snicket Your shy Webmaster , NOT !, and i first arrived in Cambodia in 2003. I did not know what exactly to expect in Cambodia but had a "vision" of an old style Indochina Place with lot's of country side, water buffaloes and rice fields, friendly people and of course a great Khmer Culture and History to study.

When i flew in from Bangkok in the Afternoon of a hot May Day i looked at a countryside that looked devastated, pockmarked with big craters and dry dusty land. It looked like it had just had worldwar II behind it, which was almost true, if not worse.

My arrival in Phnom Penh was around 6pm and it was already getting dark. The road was full of potholes and the Taxi (i was'nt sure it was a taxi, but the driver insured me, it was) looked like it was at least 20 years old. My only guide was the 2nd hand guide book i found in Bangkok. I did not know at the time that Million of Backpackers had the same copy of the Guidebook (of a not so lonely planet) and therefore headed right into the desaster of ending up in a Backpacker Central flee infested Guesthouse. When i stepped out of the car with my 2 suitcases i instantly felt uncomfortable when i saw 20+ pair of eyes belonging to rough looking Cambodians that where hanging around on their Motorcycles accross the street from my Guesthouse. They instantly barked at me and a few quickly made it across the street and tried to grab my suitcases. I screemed and yelled, but they would'nt let go. I had no idea that they where considered beeing ordinary TAXI Drivers in Phnom Penh. I nearly got a heart attack when the owner of the Guesthouse said that they where full. He pointed out, that there was another Guesthouse nearby in a dark sideroad, at the very end of it. After all this, i had to step out into the dark again to meet my fate. The Gang approached me once more and i had to run. Some guy was so persistent that he followed me all the way to the other guesthouse although i was screaming "bloody murderer" at him. This apparently was nothing unusual in Phnom Penh, and nobody really bothered. To my reliev the other Guesthouse had a vacant room and i checked in for the unbelievable price of 5$ / night. It was'nt really a room, more of a concrete cell without windows, but had an aircondition nevertheless.

My heartbeat got back to normal and i attempted to make another go at the road. Here i met my Gang Stalker (Moto Dop) again. He said he wanted to take me to the Killing Fields, Torture Museum, Riverside, Shooting Range to shoot a cow etc. I almost died. I said no, no, no, no. Only after that he said he is working as a Moto Taxi Driver and can be my guide the next morning to show me around. After that i was ready for a Bar and he took me to the "Heart of Darkness", not 100 meter away from my Guesthouse.

This Bar got good reviews in my Guidebook so my expectations where high. When i entered i was the only guest. Well, it was only 8 pm, so still time to hang around a bit.
Outside a mass of young Cambodians where hanging around and tried to get a glimpse of what was going on inside. A young Hooker was the next Guest and had a chat with me. She explained that the young Cambodians outside where not allowed to come in. When i asked "why" she said: no money ! That sounded familiar.

After another hour or so, several big white SUV's, all branding a big logo like UN,UNDP,Save the Children, etc. piled up outside and a number of mostly english speaking people came in. They looked like School Teachers, many of them still had their silly name badge around their neck, looking totally stupid. The first thing i noticed was the sheer arrogance and ignorance towards anyone local. I could not resist to ask one of them why he thought the young cambodians outside did not come in. His reply: because we don't want that scum in here. Boom!!! That hit my nerve. After all they claimed to be here to aid the local community, no ?

I was so frustrated with this reply that i went outside and invited 10 young Cambodian Boy's and Girl's to come and have a drink on me because this was my birthday (NOT).

That in return pissed of the Bar Staff, Security and of course the NGO's which thought that they owned the place. Nevertheless i won 10 new friends that i could not communicate with other than smiling at them and having a drink. Great fun !

In the process of my stay in Cambodia i got more and more annoyed about NGO's and their behaviour. It became clear to me that aid was'nt really what these people where here for. Many middle aged western women had nothing else to do after their divorce at home, many men claimed to be english teachers or whatever. All they where interested was having a great time (on the back of the local population) on their tax free income and their housing allowances, posh meetings at 4 star Hotels and their new Serviced Appartments near their NGO Office. During daytime their huge SUV Vehicles clogged the Streets of Phnom Penh and at night it was Party Time at the Riverside or Nightclubs.

The Riverside along Phnom Penh's Tonle Sap River is an attractive Tourist hang out. So is it for many Cambodian Street Vendors which are mostly Kids, crippled Veterans etc. Sooner or later every westerner will turn up here to have a drink in one of the many terrace cafe's. After my first visit there i renamed the Riverside "The Battle Zone". Later the Ocheteal and Serendipidy Beach in Sihanoukville followed and is now named "the Southern Battel Zone".

The "Battle Zone" is a one time experience. Here, they all meet. The good and the bad and the inbetweens. Of course every Tourist ends up here, usually in the late afternoon when they take up their observation posts either at the FCC (Foreign Correspondance Club) or at any of the Street Cafe's or Happy Pizza Places where they still serve Pizza with a little Marjuana topping for extra happiness.

The cool breeze from the Tonle Sap River makes a pleasant break from the Heat during the Day. Kids selling Books or Souvenirs are met by western Tourists that cannot resist the charm of these kids.

At one evening i could not believe my eyes. An American couple approached a young girl, selling books. The Woman lifted the Book Crate and found it way to heavy for the girl. Her Husband a pedriatic doctor invited her for a professional examination the next morning, while his wife turned out to be a dentist inspecting the teeth of the young girl by pushing up her upper lip and examine her teeth. It was like on a horse market. Others, while eating at the edge of the Cafe ordered extra plates of food (western food) for the poor children that turned up with their ragtag mothers. The beggers did not want food they cannot digest, they wanted cash. For many locals here the Battle Zone is a place where they can easy raise more money than a factory worker.

Than there are the Expats, usually older western men accompanied by their Khmer wife and their kids. They stand around in Groups along the Riverside and exchange the latest gossip.

Inbetween all this you see People with large Camera's with huge Tele Lenses. There is plenty of good pictures to be made here; even at sunset and later. While the locals have gotten used to the fact that Tourists never ask when they stick their Camera into their face, longterm western Residents are more than annoyed. There is no reasons why a western Tourist should make a closeup Picture of another Westerner. For what purpose ? But it happens all the time and even to me.

When i spoke to other expats they where quick to lecture me about the Child Protection Industry and APLE in particular. Theyp1030393.jpg p1030394.jpg (or their Camera people) seem to take a picture of every white male in order to build up a Foto Database which they can show to Children that have beeing abused by foreigners. I was shocked and had no desire to be in such a database. I don't even like kids and find them annoying most of the time. But than Cambodian Kids are different than spoiled western kids. The Kids take care of each other it seems, since many of the Kids hold an even smaller one on their arms. And they always feature a bright smile !

The Foto attacks are only visible to someone who is alert and aware of the above APLE Mission. I had People taking my picture at the Riverside, Wat Phnom, Kings Palace, the Restaurant, Bar, outside my Hotel and even while riding a TukTuk Taxi in Phnom Penh. In Sihanoukville they took my picture at the Beach, the Street, at the Market and in Restaurants and Bars.

I did not know how to defend myself against such onslaught on my privacy. I felt exploited without given any reason for why ? I thought about counter measures like starting a row with the one's taking my picture. But that would have immediately put me on the defense. Their logic: If you have nothing to hide you would not object us taking your picture ! Well, if that's the case why not taking my DNA, too ? It's a bit like George W. Bush's doctrine: You are either with us, or with the enemy !

I bought myself a Camera and a Video Camera that i carry with me all the time. If some one sticks a camera in my face he is already looking into my lense. GOTCHA ! Most Pictures of this website are a result of this defense. It seems to work, because people disapear quickly when they see my camera pointed at them. But how good is a Foto in my Camera ? Not much, i guess. I therefore have the pleasure of providing you with my "Snitch Parade" , shortly and hope you'll find some familiar faces in it. Don't hesitate to send me your own experiences and Pictures. I'll be glad to check them out and publish them once they have been veryfied. Furthermore you may want to visit the section "Documentaries & Movies on Cambodia"Usefull and interesting Movies on the subject where you can find APLE's reality tv shows, showing most of their not so undercover agents.

Most Men that i talked to and shared my experience with where either scared to be used by the Media or NGO or even to think about the consequences of this Witchhunt Campaign.
The regular answer was a shrug and " I have nothing to hide". The pure fear of beeing named or shown with their picture made most to stick their head into the sand.

For several of the above People interviewes it took years before they came to the right conclusions about the consequences of this invasion of their privacy. But than, with the massive onslaught of western governments against their
own citizens and the scruitny they have to endure we will possibly all have to get used to this. Why else would people embrace Facebook,Google,Twitter,Flickr and the likes ?

Disclaimer:

This website is 100% Google, Twitter,Flickr and Facebook free ! There is enough profiling on the web, we did not see any more reason to join the Bandwagon.

Our Interests are not Money but Society related. We want Harmony, not Devision, even if it is revarded by a fat, tax free bank account.


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Exposing the Truth of the Child protection Industry (NGO) in Cambodia